I spent the better part of Saturday eliminating resistance. Some would prefer to call it ‘bike maintenance’. I can’t get excited about ‘bike maintenance’… it just sounds too boring and like work for somebody else to be doing. But, when I see the work that I am doing as producing easier pedaling, faster times and more enjoyable riding, then I get revved up to take out the green cleaner, the brush and the tools and get down to work.

At the end of the day, I want to win. As a leader I don’t get excited about planning, prep, organization, emails, meetings and H.R. policies. I could list even more things that don’t excite me, but these are near the top. I find when I can shift my focus to the results and impacts of these items, I can get engaged, amped up and become ready to put in the time it is going to take to do these things right. As a leader I am ‘in’ for those things that produce important, high-impact results.

The challenge is to stop seeing things for what they are and to start seeing things for their long term value and return. Use the outcomes to motivate the work at hand.